Will Palmer takes Formula Renault Eurocup battle to the wire

Will Palmer is just one of two men remaining in contention for
the 2017 Formula Renault Eurocup, following a triple points-scoring
effort, including a fine second place in the final race of the
event, at the legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium
this weekend (23-24 September).

The R-ace GP driver leaves the world-famous Ardennes venue
second overall in the championship standings, trailing only Sacha
Fenestraz in the standings.

Will bounced back well throughout the weekend following a
disappointing initial qualifying session on Friday which left the
Sussex driver starting ninth for Saturday's first and second races.
The 20-year-old bounced back strongly in the later qualifying
session for Sunday morning's final race with the third fastest
time.

Unfortunately, Will was denied any opportunity to make any
progress up the first race of the weekend which was scuppered by
misty conditions. The field completed three laps behind the safety
car, after which half points were awarded with forced to remain in
ninth.

Will did make ground in the second race of the weekend later on
though, rising from ninth to eighth early on before the race was
interrupted by a safety car period. Upon the race's resumption,
Will made the most of good pace to maintain the pressure on those
ahead of him and he eventually rose to a sixth place finish when he
passed Yifei Ye late in the race.

Mist threatened again on Sunday morning, but this time
conditions cleared enough for racing to get underway properly, with
Will getting away strongly from the second row of the grid. Will
was the star of one of the race's most exciting moments as he ran
three abreast alongside Robert Shwartzman and Max Fewtrell on the
opening lap to secure second position.

Thereafter, Will was able to follow Fenestraz closely, matching
the championship leader for pace and following him home to the
flag, and he was less than a second in arrears as the race
ended.

These results leave will in 52.5 points behind the championship
lead with 75 still available in the season's remaining three races.
The championship will be decided on 28-29 October at the Circuit de
Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

Will said: "It's been a mixed weekend at Spa. The pace hs
generally been strong, with second group qualifying two which we
managed to convert to second place in the race. I was pushing hard
for the win but it wasn't quite possible.

"Unfortunately we had a messy first qualifying, finishing fifth
in the group which meant I started races one and two from ninth.
From there, the first race was a non event as we only drove behind
the safety car due to fog, before a red flag before i managed to
progress to sixth in race two with some overtakes.

"Looking ahead to the last weekend, the gap is quite large to
the leader but you never know what can happen - I will just be
focussing on doing the best I can in each of the races in
Barcelona."